The origins of the mathematics in this book date back more than two thou­ sand years, as can be seen from the fact that one of the most important algorithms presented here bears the name of the Greek mathematician Eu­ clid. The word "algorithm" as well as the key word "algebra" in the title of this book come from the name and the work of the ninth-century scientist Mohammed ibn Musa al-Khowarizmi, who was born in what is now Uzbek­ istan and worked in Baghdad at the court of Harun al-Rashid's son. T